My mother’s 70th birthday was a week ago, and she was in Peru to celebrate! My brother and his family are arriving tomorrow, and so we will have a full house for Christmas. I asked my mom to come a little early, thinking it would be more relaxing before all the cousins arrived and we could spend some quality time together. Instead she was here for one of our busiest weeks. Lots of after school activities and evening school parent meetings. Two broken toilets. Electrical problems draining the battery of the car. Hospital parties. Hospital call. I think we had an event every night this last week. We skipped one of them to celebrate her birthday. I appreciate her good spirits through it all, and I hope she does not feel neglected. Christmas with family is great, and we are glad we will have so much family here for Navidad!